ISLAMABAD, June 19: Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry will visit the Supreme Court some time next week for a cup of tea at the invitation of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and the Pakistan Bar Council.

“We usually have our evening tea with the chief justice at his residence but the time has come to invite him here over tea next week at a day of his convenience,” SCBA president Munir A. Malik said here on Tuesday.

The chief justice has accepted the invitation, Mr Malik told reporters after the hearing on a petition regarding the reference against the CJ.

The CJ would arrive at the Supreme Court building during the usual 11’o clock tea-break but would not attend the court proceedings, Mr Malik said.

It would be a simple get-together with senior lawyers and members of the SCBA in attendance, he said.

Mr Malik announced the CJ’s June 23 programme to address the Multan High Court Bar Association. The CJ would leave Lahore early on Saturday morning in order to be able to address the bar before midnight. This time the car will be driven by Advocate Kazim Khan. The CJ would also visit bar associations in Patoki, Chunian, Qasur, Okara, Dipalpur, Jaranwala, Sahiwal, Chicha Watni, Mian Chunnu and Khanewal. The CJ would also address the Sahiwal Bar Association, Mr Malik said.

He accused the chief justice of the Lahore High Court of transferring all judges out of Sahiwal despite the fact that only two magistrates were functioning in the district.

Wajeeha Mehdi said that her mother Ismat Mehdi was being harassed by intelligence agencies in Karachi since June 11. Hamid Khan condemned a raid on the office of Advocate Ahmed Awais in Lahore.—Staff Reporter